How do CAD Points work?

What are CAD points?

CAD points are virtual points that can be purchased individually and used as a payment method for order design:

• Allowing you to order and design an indication that is not covered by the user’s Dental System license.
• An alternative to buying add-ons: if you need to design an indication that requires an add-on, it is possible to use CAD points instead of purchasing the design license, following the pay-per-design principle.
• Trying out a design module or indication before buying an add-on.

You can order CAD points through your reseller.

How do CAD points work?

Step 1: Contact your reseller to:

• Get an overview of all design indications that support CAD points and their cost.
• Find out how many CAD points will be deducted for each specific indication.

Step 2: Make sure the 3Shape CAD points license is enabled on the dongle by 3Shape. Contact your reseller to request that the license is enabled.

Step 3: Order the correct amount of CAD points through your reseller.

Step 4: Once the CAD points have been added to the dongle, update the dongle in Dental System Control Panel. The number of available CAD points will be displayed there.

Step 5: When creating an order, you will be notified of the number of CAD points required to complete the order and the number of CAD points remaining on the dongle. The same notification will appear when opening an order to design.

When will CAD points be deducted?

Step 1: After order completion, at the Save step in Dental Designer or Model Builder, the appropriate amount of CAD points is subtracted from the dongle. CAD points for each restoration type are deducted when completing the design in the respective application. For example, for an order with an abutment and digital model, CAD points for the abutment are deducted in Dental Designer, and CAD points for the digital model are deducted in Model Builder.

Step 2: When you click Save during the design, CAD points will be deducted. You will be informed prior to this with the message shown below. The same message will appear if you decide to close the software in the middle of a design that has not yet been saved. CAD points are only deducted once per design.

Step 3: When the Auto-save option is enabled, the software will notify you that CAD points will be deducted during the first auto-save. You can disable the auto-save function for the specific design by selecting NO when the message below appears. Again, CAD points are only deducted once per design.

FAQ

1. Will or won't CAD points be deducted for the second time if I change the indications in the Order form after the order is designed?

Yes. An indication change will reset the design; CAD points will be recalculated and deducted for the second time.

2. Will or won't CAD points be deducted for the second time if I change the material, manufacturing process, or implant system for an indication in the Order form after the order is designed, and go to auto-redesign?

No. If auto-redesign was selected after changing the indication settings in the Order form, CAD points will not be deducted for the second time.

3. Will or won't CAD points be deducted for the second time if I change the material, manufacturing process, or implant system for the Order form after the order is designed, and choose to redesign manually?

CAD points behavior in this case will depend on whether you choose to keep the original design or not. When opening an order in Redesign, you will get the following message:

If you want to keep the design, CAD points will not be deducted for the second time and Dental Designer will just rebuild the order with new parameters.

If you want to redo the design, CAD points will be recalculated and deducted for the second time.

 

4. Will or won't CAD points be deducted for the second time if I create a standard copy of a designed order and re-design it?

No. CAD points will not be deducted for the second time when re-designing a standard copy of an already designed order, as the information that CAD points were deducted in the original design is stored in the order files, which are copied as well.

5. Will or won't CAD points be deducted for the second time if I use other copy options, Copy and reuse CAD design and Copy and Append CAD Design to Preparation scan, and design this order?
Yes. In this case, CAD points will be deducted for the second time.

6. Will or won't CAD points be deducted for the second time if I remodel an order in Model Builder?

Yes. CAD points will be deducted for the second time in case of remodeling in Model Builder, even if no changes were made to the order or design.

7. Will or won't CAD points be deducted for the second time if I generate CAM output?

No. CAD points are only deducted for design, never for CAM output generation.

8. Will or won't CAD points be deducted for the second time if I send a scanned order with implants to a manufacturer?

Yes. The appropriate number of CAD points per implant is deducted from the sender’s side, even if the design was not performed.

Learn more about CAD points here: 3Shape CAD Points

Contact 3Shape Support if you have any further questions.

For full information on correct usage consult the official Safety and Setup Guide and the most current Manual.